Hydraulic actuators such as those used to position actuated devices such as control surfaces in aircraft are frequently employed in pairs, each actuator of the pair being capable of independently positioning the device, whereby control thereof by one of the actuators may be preserved despite failure of the other. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that hydraulic actuators such as double-acting piston-cylinder actuators must be capable of positioning the actuated device while at the same time moving the connected piston of an inoperative redundant actuator, such inoperability being due, for example, to a failure of a control valve associated with the inoperative actuator. It has been the practice in the prior art to provide such control valves with means for draining an associated actuator in the event of failure of the control valve such as by the jamming thereof so that the operative actuator is not required to overcome the pressurization of the inoperative actuator in moving the piston thereof while positioning the actuated device. Such prior art control valve mechanisms for draining an hydraulic actuator in the event of a jamming of the control valve have heretofore generally involved rather complex configurations of internal fluid passages and ports. Such internal passage and port configurations have proven to be difficult, time consuming and costly to machine into the valve's internal structure and require substantial valve length for their accomodation. In aircraft applications where compactness is often paramount, such length may not be tolerable. Furthermore, such internal prior art drain passages and porting contribute to the complexity of the valve and thus, may in some cases adversely affect the reliability of the valve.